Joy To The World
by scarlett2112
Summary: There are moments which mark your life; moments when you realize that nothing will ever be the same and time is divided into two parts: BEFORE this and AFTER this. "I Can't Escape Myself" sequel story.


**_This is a sequel chapter to my story, "I Can't Escape Myself". It can be read as a stand alone story but if you want to meet this Damon and Elena from the beginning, that's where this story comes from._**

* * *

Damon has a few days off from work and with Mellie's Christmas program coming up at school, Elena took her for an overnight shopping trip to Missoula. His little girl was so excited about getting to stay in a motel with an indoor swimming pool. The first thing she packed in her overnight bag was her swimming suit. She's nine years old and their triplets are three. He's leaning back against the kitchen sink, enjoying a cup of coffee. Suddenly his respite ends when three little people run into the kitchen. Stopping down, he gives them each a good morning hug and kiss. Emma yawns while crawling onto her chair at her chair at the table. Although the girls are potty trained, Zach occasionally has an accident so Damon leads him into the bathroom. Damon's mom insisted on embarrassing him when she reassured Elena that he was four before he was potty trained.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," Lily squeaks, rubbing her eyes with her little fists. Picking her up, he drops a kiss to her forehead and then sits her down.

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"Panny cakes," Zach interrupts while pulling his bottoms over his pull up.

"Yeah, we want panny cakes," Emma chimes in. "Where's mommy and Mellie?"

"Mommy took Mellie shopping."

"I want to go shopping too," Lily mumbles, sticking her lower lip out.

"You don't want to stay home with daddy? I thought we could go outside and play after breakfast."

"Yay," they all scream. Damon shakes his head and then he slips a bib around each of them before he mixes up the pancake batter. As soon as the griddle is hot, he pours the batter onto it and cooks the hotcakes to perfection. He plates them up and gives each child one before sitting down with a plate himself. When they finish, he puts the dishes in the sink and then washes up each of the kids.

As soon as the three of them are dressed, Damon puts their winter wear and the four of them go outside. Together they build a snow man. Lily and Zach look for stones to make his face with while Emma finds a stick to make his arms. Once they're finished, daddy tells them to stand in front of their creation so he can take their picture. He snaps a few and he takes them in the house. After they take their coats and boots off, Damon hangs them up to dry.

"Daddy can we pway a game?"

"Yes, Zach, we can play a game. I'm going to go get a few logs for the fireplace and then I'll play with you okay?"

"Okay, daddy," Lily nods animatedly. When he hears clamping, he gives Emma a wink. He steps outside, grabs an armful of logs and carries them inside. They save a lot of money on their heating bill by having their fireplace. As soon as the fire is burning hot, he plops onto the floor to play Lewo Wooden Stacks which is Jenga for kids. Very carefully Emma pushes a block out then puts it on the top. Next is Zach's turn and he does the same. Lily takes her turn, pulling out a purple lock and sticking across Zach's.

"Your turn daddy," Lily squeals.

"What color should I pick?" he wonders, looking over the stack. Finally he very carefully pushes a red one out and deposits it on the top of the stack. They continue the game until Damon topples it over when he tries to pull a blue one out. He rolls on his back an "oomph" escaping when all three of them plop down on his middle and start bouncing.

* * *

"Mommy, can we go to the swimming pool when we get back?" Mellie asks, sticking a piece of Teriyaki chicken in her mouth. They're at the Southgate Mall to both find her a dress and to do a little Christmas shopping. Elena wants to find something for Damon. He always tells her that he doesn't need anything because he has everything he could possibly want.

"Yes, I know you're more excited to swim than you are to find a dress. I want to get Lily and Emma a new dress for Christmas too and Zach needs an outfit too."

"I know, mommy," she pouts, twirling some noodles around her fork. Elena shakes her head and digs into her California Chinese chicken salad.

"Can we call daddy?"

Elena nods, takes a swallow from her soda and then hands her the cellphone. She pushes Damon's icon and waits for him to answer.

 _"Hello."_

"Hi daddy, it's me Mellie."

 _"Really?" he laughs. "Are you having fun with mommy?"_

"We have to get a dress yet then we're gonna go swimming."

 _"You be careful."_

"I'm a big girl, daddy."

 _"You keep reminding me but I don't want to believe it."_

"Daddy, can I say hi to Emma, Zach and Lily?"

 _"We've been busy making a snowman and playing games, they're actually all asleep in front of the fireplace."_

"Okay. Do you want to talk to mommy?"

 _"Yes, I'd like to say hi. I love you little girl."_

"I love you too, daddy. Here's mommy." She hands Elena the phone and then starts to eat again.

"Hi Damon, are you holding down the fort?"

 _"We're fine. You have fun with Mellie and don't worry about us. I miss you though, I miss both of you."_

"I miss you too. Give the kids a kiss for me. I'll call you tonight."

 _"I'll be waiting. I love you, baby._ "

"I love you too, Damon. Bye," she adds and then hangs up as soon as he does. She tucks the phone back into her purse and then they finish eating while watching the toddlers in the play area. After they dispose of their garbage, Elena takes her hand and they start walking down the hall towards Dilliard's.

* * *

The triplets share a large bedroom with three toddler beds. When Zach is a little older, he'll need his own room so Damon has plans to add a room onto their house next summer when the weather is warm. Stefan, Uncle Zach, his dad, Kol, Brady and Grayson are going to help build it. Damon has kept in touch with Brady and Jules since they became so close while he was hospitalized all those years ago.

Once he has the little ones bathed and in their pajamas, he tucks them into bed and then he plops down on the bed with Zach to read them a goodnight story. With a twinkle in his eyes, he opens the book. _The Elves and the Shoemaker._

 _"_ A shoemaker, by no fault of his own, had become so poor that at last he had nothing left but leather for one pair of shoes. So in the evening, he cut out the shoes which he wished to begin to make the next morning, and as he had a good conscience, he lay down quietly in his bed, commended himself to God, and fell asleep. In the morning, after he had said his prayers, and was just going to sit down to work, the two shoes stood quite finished on his table. He was astounded, and knew not what to say to it. He took the shoes in his hands to observe them closer, and they were so neatly made that there was not one bad stitch in them, just as if they were intended as a masterpiece."

"Who made the shoes daddy?" Zach asks, leaning against his dad's arm.

"We'll have to keep reading it won't we?"

"Read more, daddy," the girls both say at the same time.

He smiles, winking at the girls before dropping his eyes to the book again. "Soon after, a buyer came in, and as the shoes pleased him so well, he paid more for them than was customary, and, with the money, the shoemaker was able to purchase leather for two pairs of shoes. He cut them out at night, and next morning was about to set to work with fresh courage; but he had no need to do so, for, when he got up, they were already made, and buyers also were not wanting, who gave him money enough to buy leather for four pairs of shoes."

"Daddy, lots of shoes," Emma says, cuddling her ragdoll as she listens with rapt attention.

"Read some more, daddy?" Lily adds, she's snuggling with her teddy bear that's almost as big as she is.

Damon smiles, he's so in love with his children. "The following morning, too, he found the four pairs made; and so it went on constantly, what he cut out in the evening was finished by the morning, so that he soon had his honest independence again, and at last became a wealthy man. Now it befell that one evening not long before Christmas, when the man had been cutting out, he said to his wife, before going to bed, "What think you if we were to stay up to-night to see who it is that lends us this helping hand?" The woman liked the idea, and lighted a candle, and then they hid themselves in a corner of the room, behind some clothes which were hanging up there, and watched. When it was midnight, two little men came, sat down by the shoemaker's table, took all the work which was cut out before them and began to stitch, sew, and hammer so skillfully and so quickly with their little fingers that the shoemaker could not turn away his eyes for astonishment. They did not stop until all was done, and stood finished on the table, and they ran quickly away."

By the time he finishes that portion of the book, they're all sound asleep. Ever so carefully so he doesn't wake Zach, he stands up. After he sets the book on the nightstand, he pulls the covers up over his son and kisses his forehead. He does the same to Lily and Emma. He turns on their nightlight and then he slips out of the room, softly pulling the door closed behind him. It's not late yet but he's tired having chased after three little ones all day so he showers, changes into his pajamas and crawls into bed. He grabs the remote to watch a little TV but before long his eyes drop closed, a light snore escaping his mouth as he drifts into slumber.

* * *

"Mommy, I want to swim some more," Mellie protests when Elena tells her it's time to go back to their motel room. She's in the shallow end of the water, plugs her nose and drops below the surface. As soon as she raises her head above the water, Elena gestures with her hand to get out.

"No, mommy."

"Mellie, you have to take a bath and then it's bedtime."

Reluctantly she crawls out of the water. Elena drapes a towel around her shoulders and one over her hair. She takes her hand and they walk back to their room. Elena gives her a banana to eat while she runs her some bathwater, adding a capful of bubble bath that she bought at the store today. As soon as she finishes her snack, she goes into the bathroom and crawls in the water. Elena pulls the door closed, kicks off her shoes and then lays down on the bed to thumb through her magazine.

"Mommy, I'm tired," Mellie yawns when she steps out of the bathroom. Elena gets up, finds her large toothed comb and goes through her daughter's hair, putting in a braid and then she pulls the covers back so her little girl can crawl in.

Smiling at her daughter, she turns the lights down then escapes to the bathroom to take a hot bath herself. Before she crawls into the tub, she calls Damon to say goodnight. When she's done, she gets into bed beside Mellie, closes her own eyes and tries to sleep. Even though she slept without him all those months that he was away, she still has a hard time falling a asleep when Damon isn't laying next to her.

* * *

Damon decides to surprise Elena and Mellie so he mixes up a double batch of Spritz cookies. After he uses the molds to drop them on the pan, he hands them to his youngest children so they can do the decorating.

"Okay, Emma, You can put the red sugar on this pan of cookies. Zach, you can do this pan with the sprinkles an Lily, you can put the green sugar on these trees." As soon as they finish their pans, Damon slides them in the oven and sets the timer. He has to wait for them to bake before he can pan some more for them to decorate.

"Daddy, I want to get the Christmas tree."

"We'll go as soon as Mommy and Mellie get home. We can't go without your sister," he adds, raising an eyebrow. He sees Emma's about to fuss but the oven timer goes off. He pulls the pans out of the oven and uses the spatula to remove them. Then he grabs the Spritz cookie press and starts making some wreathes and snowmen and some stars. He cautions them not to touch the pan when he puts them in front of them so they can add the nonpareils, colored sugars and sprinkles. They repeat the process until all of the dough is used up.

When they're cool, Damon puts them in Tupperware to freeze some of them but he plates up a few so the little ones can taste their handiwork. Just as he pours them some milk, Elena and Mellie walk in through the kitchen door.

"Mommy," they all squeal with their mouths full of cookies. While Mellie gives her daddy a hug, Elena walks over to the table and presses a kiss to each of their heads. With a wink, she snatches one off the plate and gobbles it up herself.

"Mommy's home, now can we get our tree?" Lily asks, reaching for another poinsettia shaped one.

"As soon as daddy helps me unload the car, we'll go get your Christmas tree, okay?"

They all yell yay and start clapping. Damon has an arm around Mellie's shoulder. "I missed you, little girl."

"I missed you too, daddy."

"Did you and mom find a pretty dress?" he asks, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

"Ah ha. Let's get stuff in so we can go chop down our tree."

"Okay, okay," Damon laughs. He wipes his hands, walks into the garage and starts unloading the trunk. When he finishes, Elena comments that she's getting a cold so after she helps him bundle up the kids, she stays home to make them something hot for supper while they go fetch their tree. Damon secures the triplets in their car seats while Mellie sits in the passenger seat. They all wave goodbye to Elena and then they're off.

It's snowing very lightly but with precious cargo on board, Damon drives slowly. He knows all too well what can happen with a head injury from a car wreck. As soon as he finds the forest trail, he turns onto the gravel road. When they find a decent place to park, Damon pulls aside and stops the car. As soon as he has the three little ones out, he reaches into the glove box for their Christmas tree permit. Every year they buy one from the Montana Dept. of Natural Resources and Conservation. Mellie opens the back end so Damon can grab the chain saw. Together they walk into the woods.

They're not the only ones out looking for trees today, he waves to Jim the banker and his family. They chat a little but when Zach tugs on his coat, Damon laughs and leads his kids farther into the forest. When Mellie starts to lag behind, he stops to ask her what's wrong.

"My head hurts."

"Maybe you're catching mommy's cold too? As soon as we get home, you can take a hot bath and crawl into bed okay?"

She bobs her head and then runs after Emma when she darts into a cluster of underbrush. They search for about an hour before all four agree on a fifteen foot Ponderosa pine. Mellie pushes the little ones back while Damon turns on the chainsaw and cuts it down. Together, they drag it back to his pickup. After it's secure, he puts the triplets back in their seats. He can't help but notice how quiet his oldest is. He brushes his hand across her forehead, even in the cold weather, she feels a little warm.

"Let's get you home. I think my baby girl is getting sick."

Mellie lays with her head against the window. She's sound asleep by the time they get home. Damon gets out of the car, they're all asleep after their busy day. He carries them in one at a time. While Elena takes off their coats and mittens, she takes them into their room to have a nap. Glancing at her watch, she sees it's only about three thirty. They can sleep an hour or two and then she'll get them up for supper. When she looks up and sees Damon carrying Mellie in the house, her lead lolling against his shoulder, she rushes over to them. Pressing her palm on her daughter's head, she can also feel that she's feverish.

"She's got a pretty serious fever, I think."

"She told me her head hurt. Carry her to her room while I run her a bubble bath."

Damon nods and lays her on her bed. She opens her glassy eyes, grimacing when she rolls onto her side. "Sweetie, mommy is running you a bath."

"Um kay."

He smiles and helps her take her shoes and socks off. Then he leads her into the bathroom so her mom can help her with the rest. After he pulls the door closed, he goes to check on the others. A half hour later, Elena comes downstairs.

"I put her to bed after giving her some Ibuprofen. She has a 101 temperature," she starts to say, reaching for a Kleenex to blow her nose as she finishes.

"She'll feel better tomorrow. I'm sure she'll want to help decorate the tree. I'll watch the soup. Why don't you go take a nap too, mommy?"

"Damon, are you sure?"

"Positive. I don't want my bride to get sick too."

"I think it's a little late for that," she laughs, brushing a kiss to his cheek, swallows a couple of Advil herself then goes upstairs to lay down. Damon turns the soup down to simmer. Afterwards he goes outside and brings the tree into the house. When he finally finds the tree stand in the garage, he sets it up and adds some water to the basin. Not even an hour later, the triplets are awake and stampeding down the stairs for dinner. Elena wakes up to check on Mellie. She's still sleeping but she doesn't feel as hot so she decides to let her sleep, thinking she's probably down for the night.

By the time they have Emma, Zach and Lily bathed and in bed, they want mommy to read them a story tonight so Damon peeks into Mellie's room. He stares at her for several minutes. His heart is so full of love for all of his children, still his relationship with his oldest is something that he treasures. After brushing a kiss on her forehead, he retires to his and Elena's room and crawls into bed. It's been a busy day for him too so after showering, he gets into bed. A few minutes later, Elena joins him. He spreads his arms and when she safely ensconced in them, he flips the light off, sleep coming quickly for both of them.

Some time later, Damon wakes up. Reaching for his watch, he sees that it's a little after 2. He brushes his lips across Elena's forehead and then slips out of bed to go to see how Mellie is feeling. He walks into her room and gently lays his hand on her forehead. He reels back when his hand touches her burning skin. Quickly he turns her bedside lamp on. She's bright red and when he says her name, she doesn't wake up. He quickly runs downstairs to get the thermometer. When it shows 105 and he can't get more than a moan out of her, Damon hurries to get Elena.

"We have to take her to the hospital Damon."

"I know. I'm going to call Stefan and see if he and Caroline can come over."

"Hurry, Damon."

"Get her ready so we can leave as soon as they get here."

Elena nods while Damon hurries downstairs to call his brother. Twenty minutes later, Stefan and Caroline show up to babysit. With Mellie wrapped in a blanket, Damon carries her outside, laying her in the backseat, her head on Elena's lap. He quickly jumps behind the wheel and drives as quickly as he can the 20 miles to the Kalispell hospital. When they arrive, he parks in front of the ED door, picks her up and along with Elena, they take her inside. Once she's in a room, they sit on either side of her, each one holding her hand.

The doctor examines her, saying that he wants to do a spinal tap to check for meningitis. Damon can't watch them hurt his little girl so he steps out but Elena stays with her. Just the night before last, he tucked her into bed. He kissed her forehead and watched her cuddle beneath her blankets with her teddy bear. He doesn't remember her feeling feverish then, there's no way Elena would have taken her shopping if she had been sick.

When the procedure is over, the nurse fetches him to rejoin his family. Elena sits rigidly in one of the chairs, looking calm and stoic even as she fiddles with her wedding ring. The moment their eyes meet, she starts to crumble. The tears that had been brimming in her eyes spill and her breath stutters out of her in a heated rush. She jumps out of the chair and falls into his arms.

"Damon," she whispers. "She has to be okay. She just has to be okay…"

He rubs her back, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "What is it?"

"Her fever's 105.2. The doctor is saying that it could be meningitis, either bacterial or viral, I don't know. And they took her to radiology for a chest X ray." She lifts her head from his chest, looking mournfully at the door of their exam room.

He's scared shitless himself but he has to keep his wits about him for her so he whispers soothing words of encouragement.

"She has to be all right," Elena repeats, looking up at him with wide, wet eyes. "She has to be…she's our little girl…"

Damon nods, "I know, sweetheart, she will be."

Too much adrenaline and nervous energy are flooding through his mind to even try to figure out whether he truly believes it or not. He has to believe she'll be okay, it's the only way he and Elena too will get through this.

"If something happens to her…" Elena whispers brokenly.

"I know, sweetheart," Damon says, holding her tighter against his chest. When the curtain slides open, Dr. Fell steps inside.

"What's going on, Doctor?" Damon blurts out.

"Your daughter came in with a high fever – 104.4 at last check – with neck pain, disorientation, lethargy…"

Damon nodded. "Did her spinal tap confirm meningitis?"

Dr. Fells nods her head in confirmation. "I'm also checking her a CBC and we're doing blood cultures to see if anything turns up."

Damon nods, lowering his head to avert his eyes. Just the thought of his little girl having to endure a disease like this has him on the verge of tears. This time it's Elena who squeezes his hand to give him strength.

"She's going to be fine. You got her here quickly so there's no reason to think the worst. As soon as we know what we're dealing with, if it's meningitis, viral or bacterial, we need to get both of you on a course of antibiotics as a precaution too."

"We have three year old triplets at home. Will they need to take them too?" Damon asks, his eyes darting from Elena's to the Dr. Fell's.

"Triplets?"

"Yes," Elena confirms.

"You said they're three. I'll write scripts for them too."

"I have to get back to her," Dr. Fells says, "I will keep you posted."

Elena lets out a painful sob the second the doctor leaves the room. "She told me yesterday that her head hurt but I didn't think it was anything serious."

Damon drops his hands to her shoulders and looks her in the eyes. "This isn't your fault, it's no ones fault. It's just one of those things."

Teary eyed, she meets his stare. "She's going to be so scared, Damon."

"I know, baby, I know. But we have to do whatever we need to do to make her all right." Damon pulls her trembling form into his arms once more.

 _Mellie has to be okay, any other possibility is too excruciating to even contemplate._

* * *

Spread out in a standard sized hospital bed, their daughter looks almost like a doll, so fragile and delicate. She is flushed, her hair damp sticking to her forehead. Mellie moves fitfully beneath the sheets, eyes clenched shut. It almost looks like it hurts her just to breathe. It's a heartbreaking sight for her parents.

A sob tears through Elena's throat. If Damon wasn't there to hold her up, she's certain that she'd be lying in a heap on the floor. For almost two days, Mellie has done nothing but sleep. Although Damon hates having to wear the mask, he's afraid he'll scare her when she wakes up, he does as the nurses tell them. Elena hasn't left her side either. His parents have their little ones tonight and tomorrow they'll go to Elena's folks for an overnight. Since the triplets were born, their parents buried the hatchet ending their stupid feud once and for all.

Often he finds himself almost hypnotized as he watches the drip, drip, drip of the fluids and antibiotics as they flow into her arm through her IV line. Damon insisted that Elena go home with her parents for a few hours to get some sleep on a decent bed. She begrudgingly left but as he looks at his watch, he knows she'll be back in three - two - one...

Tentatively, she pushes open the door to Mellie's room. For almost two agonizing days, she and Damon have done nothing but hover at her bedside, hoping that she'll be okay. Elena steps over to the bedside to take her daughters hand. She lifts up her mask to press a kiss to her forehead. She can feel Damon behind her, radiating warmth, strength and resolve.

"She's still pretty out of it."

Elena shares a look with her husband while gently stroking her hand over their daughter's. Damon lays his hand atop both of theirs, his fingers curling around Mellie's wrist so the three of them are connected. His hand is comfortingly warm and she leans against him, searching for strength.

"She has to be okay, Elena," he starts hesitantly, tears in his eyes.

Elena wipes at her own with her free hand, trying to fight off another wave of them. Damon bobs his head. She looks away, unable to bear his pained expression any longer. Elena reaches over and brushes the hair away from Mellie's forehead, smiling even as she feels the tears trailing down her cheeks.

"Baby girl, you have to hurry up and get better, okay? Your brother and sisters are waiting for you to decorate the tree. You have your solo in the school Christmas program. Please, Mellie, mommy and daddy are so worried about you."

Damon bobs his head up and down, almost as if Mellie could see him. From the corner of her eye, Elena sees him wipe his face against his shirt sleeve. Even though she had a nap at her parent's house, he knows she's exhausted so he opens up the chair-bed so Elena can lay down. She nods and after kissing her daughter's forehead again, she lays down and accepts the blankets when Damon covers her up. She feels him press his lips to the top of her hair. She takes his hand, squeezing it as she looks into his eyes. "I love you, Damon."

"I love you too, so, so much. Get some sleep, I promise I will wake you if anything happens."

"Okay," she whispers then closes her eyes and curls up into a fetal position. Soon he can hear her breathing even out signaling her slumber. Ever so quietly, he pulls his recliner close to the bedside. He cradles Mellie's hand between his and then closes his eyes.

Soon despite his best efforts to the contrary, exhaustion drags him into the darkness.

* * *

When Damon feels something on his hand, his eyes snap open. It takes him a few seconds to get his bearings and when he does, he sees Mellie staring at him. "Hi daddy," she whispers. But her eyes suddenly fill with fear when she looks at her surroundings.

Damon jumps up and pushes on the nurse button before pulling her into his safe embrace. "You're going to fine, baby girl. You're in the hospital. You gave mommy and daddy a great big scare."

"Where's mommy?"

Damon points to where Elena is starting to stir. Suddenly she jolts upright and as soon as she sees Mellie's eyes on her, tears start to pour from hers. Damon extends his hand to pull her up and then steps aside so Elena can give her a hug too. Mother and daughter pull apart just as the nurse walks in.

"Look who's awake?" she remarks upon seeing the happy parents.

* * *

Damon sighs in relief when he pulls into their garage. Looking into his rearview mirror, he smiles widely when his eyes meet Mellie's. After a week in the hospital, she was discharged on Christmas Eve. No sooner than he turns off the ignition, she unbuckles her seatbelt and bolts out of the car and into the house, leaving her parents behind. They both start laughing. Damon waits for Elena to walk around the car. Hand in hand they walk into the house.

Emma, Zach and Lily are fussing over their big sister, she takes turns giving them all a hug. Then Uncle Zach lifts her into his arms and spins her around, Mellie's delighted squeals are music to their ears.

"Where's Jenna and the boys?"

"They're at home, Elena. Zane has a cold, she didn't think Mellie needed to be exposed to anything else after her ordeal." He sets Mellie down and stoops in front of her, "Don't you ever scare us like that again, young lady." She shakes her head back and forth and then wraps her arms around her favorite uncle's neck. He hugs her back and then lets her go when the little ones start tugging on her. They grab her hand and pull her into the living room. Her smile melts when she sees that the tree is partially decorated with lights and beads.

"We saved some for you. But listen, I have to get home. Scotty and Zane are expecting Santa too." After he gives everyone in the family a hug, he says goodbye and leaves to go home. Damon brings some more wood in to fuel the fire while Elena makes some supper.

After they eat, they all retreat to the living room so they can finish preparing for the holiday. As soon as Damon retrieves the ornaments from the attic, Mellie, Lily, Zach and Emma start to decorate the tree. They're very busy, hurrying back and forth, pulling ornaments out of the box and quickly hanging them.

"It's pretty, daddy," Lily squeaks, admiring her handiwork.

"I think so too," he agrees, ruffling the top of her head.

"Help me," Zach asks, holding a candy cane in one hand while pointing to the top of the tree. Damon lifts him up so he can put it where he thinks it should go. Mellie deposits a few candy canes too and helps Emma when hers falls on the floor.

"It broketed," she pouts.

"Here's a good one," Mellie says, handing her another one. Elena picks up the one from the floor, peels off the wrapper and starts to suck on the pieces.

Damon picks up their camera and starts recording the fun, his kids are growing up so fast. Sometimes he thinks about another one but not yet, they still have their hands full with the triplets. Maybe when they're a little older. When he winks at Elena, she's having as much as their children.

When the tree is packed full of ornaments both homemade and store bought, popcorn and cranberry garlands, Elena plops down on the couch and pats the spaces beside her. Lily, Emma and Zach pounce on her. Elena gestures with her head to their tree topper.

Damon hands her the camera so she can record it. He carefully takes it out of the box and hands it to his oldest. "I can't reach it daddy."

"Sure you can cause daddy is going to help you. He lifts her into his arm and raises her up. Together they put the star on the tree. Damon's heart starts to slam against his throat. He's so grateful to have her home and in his arms again. While she's making sure it's just right, his eyes meet Elena's. Every minute of everyday, he falls more in love with her. When he mouths, "I love you", she returns the sentiment.

Having finished her task, Mellie twists in his arms and wraps hers around his neck and hugs him tight. "I love you too, baby girl." After he sets her down, he and Elena put the kids to bed. They both kiss each of them, Damon reads the little ones a story while Elena tucks Mellie in. By the time he reaches the end, they're all snoozing. Carefully he tiptoes out of the room and into Mellie's. As quiet as a church mouse, he walks over and places a wispy kiss to the crown of her head.

"Night daddy," she slurs, already half asleep.

"Goodnight, sweet pea," he whispers then walks out and goes down the stairs. He pulls Elena towards the couch. Sitting himself down, he wraps her in his arms while they watch the fire roaring in the fireplace. All the lights are off except the ones on their Christmas tree.

"I've missed this, Damon says into her hair, giving her a squeeze.

"What?"

"Having you in my arms like this."

"Merry Christmas Damon," she whispers, snuggling in closer to him.

"Merry Christmas, Elena," he echoes and drops his mouth to hers.

* * *

 _Huge thanks to my partner, Eva. Love you dearly._

 _Huge thanks to all of you. We're so grateful to all of you._

 _I am going to put "Eyes Without a Face" on hold till after the holidays. I still have 'F &L' which is a 2 shot, 'OCB', and the 'TGH' sequel chapter to post as well the remaining chapters of 'I'll Be Seeing You'. _

_I hope you all have a fantastic day. Thank you all again, you're the best._


End file.
